The European Commissions’ Horizon 2020 programme has launched a new initiative: the SME Innovation Associate for Researchers.
This programme is open to highly-skilled researchers (PhDs) looking for new challenges in:
Implementing research to turn business ideas into an innovation?
Learning about industrial innovation and business management skills?
Enhancing their CV with business experience abroad?
Under 'Horizon 2020', the European Union's Research and Innovation Programme, a new funding will support 90 SMEs or start-ups hire a researcher as the brain who will bring their brilliant idea to life.
The 'Horizon 2020 SME Innovation Associate' (INNOSUP-02-2016) has been created to facilitate the matchmaking between talented researchers and European SMEs to support turning an innovative idea into a research or innovation project, for one year.
The programme will assist researchers in:
Finding the SMEs who need researchers to turn their ideas into innovations;
Providing the selected researchers with a full tailored-made training and coaching package in order to guarantee a smooth integration in the company.
Who can participate?
Researchers from all over the world who met the following criteria:
PhD holder or equivalent (Recognised Researcher R2 level minimum);
Demonstrated expertise in line with the job advertisement;
Transnational mobility as defined in the mobility rule of the Marie Slodowska Curie Actions (MSCA): "at the time of recruitment, researchers must have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country where the SME is established for no more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the reference date. Compulsory national service and/or short stays such as holidays are not taken into account".
How to participate?
The recruitment phase will start in March 2017 and positions in September 2017.
Recruitment: 01/03-30/04/2017 - Apply for a challenging job abroad!
Once the European Commission has selected the SMEs with the most innovative ideas and best recruitment plans, job vacancies will be published on EURAXESS the European Job Platform for Researchers, and other international or globally accessible web-based resources from 1st March 2017 to 30 April 2017.
Interviews will take place in May-June 2017 and your new job will start in September 2017 for an initial period of 12 months.
The application is simple and paperless:
Create your personal account at EURAXESS. The process will take no more than 10 minutes;
Submit your application online by 30/04/2017 at 17:00:00 (Brussels time).
Optional Phase I: 11/02-30/06/2016 - Testing ideas and job vacancies
SMEs will be able to test the attractiveness of both their ideas and vacancy notice in advance (i.e. before submitting their proposal for this pilot action) by publishing their call for manifestation of interest on EURAXESS.
During this period you will be able to express your interest and give feedback on the call for manifestation of interest. In doing so you will:
Help pre-select the most interesting ideas;
Help SMEs to fine-tuning their job offer;
Highlight your CV and keep in contact with potential employers
Optional Phase II: 01/07/2016-28/02/2017 - Parallel recruiting phase
During the testing phase (optional phase I), SMEs can decide whether they want to make the vacancy conditional on the award of an EU grant. By making the offer non-conditional on the EU financial support, SMEs can keep the opportunity of recruiting experts as soon as they are available/identifies without having to wait for 1st September 2017 (the official starting date of the positions supported by the European Union).
Advantage: Without conditionality the job will be immediately available.
Disadvantage: The recruiting of the candidate outside this EU funding schemes will prevent researchers from participating in the core training programme organised by the European Union.